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Bill Hollander: Boulder's leaders shouldn't tell us where to shop

Posted:
01/31/2013 01:00:00 AM MST

Illustrious Boulder City Council member Macon Cowles and Boulder Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel have set a new standard for arrogance and sanctimoniousness. These fellow travelers are so full of anti-corporate zeal that they are willing to decide for all of us what is in our best interests so that we don't make any "wrong" choices. Well, thanks, but no thanks! All of us can choose to shop at the new Walmart, including Cowles and Morzel. It's called freedom, by the way.

Every so often we hear how Boulder wants to shed its reputation for being anti-business. With our deputy mayor saying that she really hopes people don't support this new store it's not too hard to figure out where the reputation came from. Ostensibly one of the concerns is the decrease in retail wages across the county.

Whether this proves true remains to be seen, but it is certain that our far-seeing council members have not and cannot take into account the myriad drawbacks or advantages this store will bring, such as less pollution from driving or busing to more-distant discount stores, less expense for that transportation and for the goods purchased, less time wasted, greater options for all the population.

So now lets talk about Cowles' Faustian bargain. His implicit presumption is that only disinterested public servants like himself have the wisdom to make the choices that are best for all. In other words, the deal we would make with the devil is our souls in exchange for low prices.

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Well, he has already made a Faustian bargain of his own. The deal he cut with the devil is to embrace coercion and statism in exchange for an unsustainable fairy land. My soul is my concern and your soul is yours.

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